Browns Playoff: 4 good and 2 bad from the Steelers playoff win

The Bad

The secondary

For some reason, Joe Wood had Andrew Sendejo sitting out half the game and noticeably, it was the half the Browns were getting their teeth kicked in defensively. While yes, it’s more likely that Kevin Johnson and Denzel Ward would’ve been more effective at stopping the passing attack, or at least Ward, the Browns using Sheldrick Redwine and Karl Joseph over Sendejo was certainly a call. It’s also no surprise that when the Browns started to blitz more in the 3rd and 4th quarters, Sendejo was back on the field. Maybe it was a health thing, Sendejo was coming off of an injury but still. The secondary was awful.

Joe Woods prevent

If this is Kevin Stefanski’s edict and Joe Woods is simply enacting it, there is no criticism here. It’s his job to support his coach. If this is Woods’ plan, however, then dang, there needs to be a change somewhere. The Steelers were able to make it a game at some points because of Woods’ multi-defensive-back prevent defense schemes. It did not work. Part of the issue for why the secondary fell apart is admittedly the lack of a pass rush all game. The Browns did not generate one sack or any real pressure all game. In situations where your secondary is bad and your pass rush is nonexistent, one would think you’d try blitzing. In Woods’ defense, he eventually did start trying to blitz in the 4th quarter and it worked to a degree, but it was a long time to get there.